Books
More family history from Knole and Sissinghurst
In deciding to write a book about her forebears and herself, Juliet Nicolson follows in their footsteps. Given that her…
Nine angst-ridden men
‘Insufficiency’ is a favourite David Szalay word. The narrator of his previous novel, Spring, suffered from ‘insufficiency of feeling’; in…
The life of Thomas De Quincey: a Gothic horror story
Frances Wilson’s biography of Thomas De Quincey, the mischievous, elusive ‘Pope of Opium’, makes for addictive reading, says Hermione Eyre
A woman’s version of the Trojan War
The Iliad begins with a grudge and ends with a funeral. In between are passages, if not necessarily of boredom,…
When London burned like rotten sticks
Spectator readers know Andrew Taylor from his reviews of crime fiction. Many will also know him as an admirable writer…
Quentin Blake brings comfort and joy
His professional achievements aside, Quentin Blake’s life has been rather short on biographical event, so this book is not a…
The Sunlight Pilgrims: a chilling tale of the new Ice Age
Every second novel is fated to be measured against its predecessor; and that comparison is particularly hard when the debut…
Sex behind the scenes at Sofia’s National Palace of Culture
Garth Greenwell’s debut novel is as dreary and oppressive as the Soviet-era apartment buildings among which it takes place. But…
The Easter Rising’s road to hell — paved with good intentions
While reading this book in a London café, I was politely buttonholed by an Irishman: ‘Sorry to disturb you, but…
From Auden to Wilde: a roll call of gay talent
The Comintern was the name given to the international communist network in the Soviet era, advancing the cause wherever it…
The heartbreaking story of becoming homeless in America
This is a very upsetting book. The Harvard sociologist Matthew Desmond spent a year and a half living in low-income…
Mary Magdalene: all-singing, all-dancing Goddess of Light
Many of the great faith narratives (the Holy Quran being a notable exception) are clumsy, rough-hewn things; makepiece amalgams of…
Riots and gang warfare provide the spark for the best latest thrillers
All it takes is a spark. In her compelling new thriller, Ten Days (Canongate, £14.99), Gillian Slovo tracks the progress…
Has Aung San Suu Kyi become a puppet of Burma’s generals?
Peter Popham is commendably quick off the blocks with this excellent account of the run-up to last November’s Burmese general…
Books and arts
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Robert Mapplethorpe: bad boy with a camera
Robert Mapplethorpe made his reputation as a photographer in the period between the 1969 gay-bashing raid at the Stonewall Inn…
Gloriana and the Sultan — England’s unlikely alliance
The idea for a mechanical cock was never going to work. In 1595 the English ambassador to Constantinople, Edward Barton,…
Death and retribution in Beersheba
Nordic noir is passé. Now we have Israeli noir. Waking Lions is a mordant thriller written by a clinical psychologist…
POOF... BOOM... POW! Daniel Clowes’s new graphic novel descends into magic
If you could travel back in time, would you kill Hitler’s mother, seek out your old house and play ball…
South Africa’s Heart of Darkness
Trencherman was first published in Afrikaans in 2006 and translated into English for a South African readership shortly afterwards, but…
George Bell: witness to the truth
George Bell (1883–1958) was, in many respects, a typical Anglican prelate of his era. He went to Westminster and Christ…
Let there be light
There has been extraordinarily little bright sunlight in the far northwest corner of Britain over the past year. Damp, drizzling…
Was 1971 really the best ever year for music?
According to David Hepworth, the year he turned 21 was also the year when ‘a huge proportion of the most…
The making of modern India
The sacrifices made by India on the Allies’ behalf in the second world war would profoundly affect the country’s future for better or worse, says Philip Hensher
How to have your cake — and not eat it
Sitting at her desk at the BBC in March 2006, researching a documentary about the Olympic Games, Caroline Jones pressed…
